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LISTEN - Purdue Researcher Proves Over 50 Bible Characters Did Exist

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Lawrence Mykytiuk/Purdue University

(K-LOVE News – Abby Aronoff) - For many the Bible is a holy manuscript, accurate and reliable. For others it’s an allegory with important life lessons. But one college researcher says the Bible is history: retelling the events of real people. And, he says he can prove it!

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Dr. Lawrence Mykytiuk can verify more than 50 people in the Bible including one very important king. Larry’s the History Librarian in Purdue University Libraries, and his personal research focus is onon the historical accuracy of the Bible. But early in his career he found there were no systematic criteria to prove what the Bible says is true.

Dr. Mykytiuk’s criteria must start with an archeological find that is authentic, noting, “You have to start with reliable data. If you go to the antiquities market in any country, but especially in Israel, you’ll find a lot of forgeries. You have to start out with something that has been dug up or carved into the side of a mountain since ancient times.”

The artifact must have an inscription that points to a person or event. Then an investigator must compare the settings, the time and place. The person the inscription talks about and the person in the Bible have to be within about 50 years of each other, because that’s how long an adult could have an active life in ancient times.

Dr. Mykytiuk needs a name and a father’s name, or a title that corresponds with the person’s title in the Bible. Location of the artifact and the language it’s written in also play big factors. One plaque found in 1993 holds special significance.

He exclaims, “My favorite is King David. When they analyzed the inscription, on one line it says the king of Israel, mel’ Israel. And then when it starts on the next line, it has the last letter for the word for king, [or] melek, and then you have bet David, ‘The dynasty founded by David.’ And that fits in perfectly with the Biblical account of David and his descendants who ruled the Southern kingdom of Judah.”

Recently, he’s verified three names. Two high officials in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, and Tattenai, a Persian governor who is mentioned in Chapter 5 of the Old Testament book of Ezra.

The professor is hooked saying, “I’ll probably never give this up because those pesky archeologists keep digging these things up.” And the findings speak for themselves. Dr. Mykytiuk points to the evidence, “When somebody raises a question about, ‘well, we know that the Bible is just a bunch of myths,’ they haven’t looked at the real evidence, which is just plain there. Doesn’t matter if you’re a Muslim, an atheist, a Hindu. The evidence is the same and it still points to the same people in Scripture.”